Tigers' leader dead, says army

Updated on 18 May 2009

By Nick Paton Walsh

The Sri Lankan army announces that it has killed the Tamil Tigers' top commander, despite denials from the rebel group. Nick Paton Walsh reports.

It said it had surrounded Velupillai Prabhakaran in a small patch of jungle in the north east of the country, and claimed the Tigers have now been defeated after a 26-year war.

But a spokesman for the Tigers has told Channel 4 News that the rebels will not surrender and that their commander is still alive.

Meanwhile, the British embassy in Sri Lanka has been the target of protesters who are complaining about this country's criticism of their military campaign against the Tigers.

Send this article by email

Recipient's email address

Your name

More on this story

Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of external websites.